Chapter 38: This Is an Attempt

Dominating the gods? The sheer magnitude of information behind this statement was clearly beyond what Li Kang could process, causing him to suffer a mental breakdown.

Chu Zhu, however, cast the matter aside and went back to watching his movie. A concrete plan had already formed in his mind; he merely needed to follow it, step by step, and push it toward its conclusion.

The perpetrators meeting their fate was a destined future. The only thing that required consideration was how many lives Chu Zhu would have to expend to see it through.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

The base gates opened once more.

Entering this time were Guan Fei, his eyes bloodshot, and Bi Xuan, drenched in sweat.

"...Mr. Zhu! Something terrible has happened, er..." Guan Fei only managed to shout halfway before he froze, staring at Chu Zhu, who was playing Tetris.

At this moment, every block dropped by the simulation of Nuwa-17 landed with a tremendous impact. Had it not been for the lack of actual vibration, it would have been as if someone were dismantling the load-bearing walls of the base just to play with building blocks.

Bi Xuan: "..."

Before arriving, they had naturally spoken with Li Kang. Although Li Kang had told them that Chu Zhu was doing things far beyond their imagination, this scene was still beyond their comprehension.

Bi Xuan reached out and pinched the soft flesh on Guan Fei's waist with all his might.

"Ouch! You brat, are you looking to die?" Guan Fei flew into a rage. Bi Xuan quickly pointed a finger toward Chu Zhu, who remained seated, unmoved, continuing his game.

"...Oh, right!" Guan Fei reacted, his anxiety returning. "What are you doing? No, never mind that—you need to step in! Things have spiraled out of control."

"The Union Guard has mobilized! They’ve declared they’re going to hang every single factory owner. They’ve already swept up a massive number of workers and poured out of the shanty redevelopment zone... Outside, it’s absolute chaos!"

"You’re the only one who can stop this!" Guan Fei’s voice carried a note of pleading. The situation outside was critical to the extreme. According to their earlier phone communication with Li Kang, the massive disturbance had already alerted the upper echelons of Jinghai City.

The city administration had already begun convening meetings for the governing bodies of every district. If this matter wasn't resolved in the shortest time possible, the higher-ups might truly make some regrettable decisions.

"Oh," Chu Zhu said, his expression unchanged. He picked at his ear and asked nonchalantly, "How many people have died?"

Guan Fei: "?"

Bi Xuan’s eyes went blank; he nearly doubted what he had heard.

"Not yet... No, wait, what do you mean, 'how many have died'? This is real bloodshed! Even if you step in now, it will be hard to stop!" Guan Fei’s voice trembled.

"You don't understand," Chu Zhu said, glancing at Guan Fei. The meaning in his gaze made Guan Fei feel that he truly could not fathom it. "This is an experiment."

Borrowing the heads of the factory owners to beat the grass and startle the snakes.

With that, Chu Zhu calmly continued playing Tetris.

"...You, you!" After a brief silence, Guan Fei finally realized what was happening. His body quivered with rage. "How could you... be a person like this? How could this be..."

Guan Fei bit his lower lip and gave Chu Zhu a long, deep look, his face etched with disappointment. "I’m leaving! Goodbye, Mr. Zhu. Goodbye!"

Guan Fei had always respected Chu Zhu. He knew that Chu Zhu had changed everything in the shanty redevelopment zone, and that he was perhaps the only person in this world who treated the people of the shanties like human beings. It was precisely because of Chu Zhu’s actions and leadership that the Union had been able to transform the area.

That was why he couldn't understand why, now, Chu Zhu didn't care at all about the Union or the shanty town. He didn't care about the damage his cold indifference would cause to the district and the entire city of Jinghai—nor did he care how many people would die because of his inaction.

This wasn't the Chu Zhu he knew. He turned and left without looking back. Bi Xuan looked at Chu Zhu, then at Guan Fei, gave a bitter smile, and followed closely behind.

Chu Zhu remained as he always was.

Twelve o'clock at noon.

Chu Zhu stood up, stretched, had Nuwa-17 turn off the light screen, and left the base. "Time for lunch."

...

The moment he stepped out of the Inspector Bureau, Chu Zhu noticed the change in the atmosphere.

Soldiers in leather armor patrolled outside the city office building with grim expressions, standing guard every ten paces.

As Chu Zhu headed out, he was stopped for questioning several times. Fortunately, his status as a special consultant for the Inspector Bureau's task force carried significant weight, allowing him to pass through mostly unimpeded. Walking through the streets, one could say the air was thick with the scent of gunpowder.

Entering the Third District, Chu Zhu paused and narrowed his eyes. Although there were still pedestrians on the road, their numbers were sparse, and they were almost exclusively men; no women were to be seen. The passersby moved in a rush, their faces etched with panic and fear.

Many storefront windows were shattered, and some wooden-framed buildings were still smoldering.

Corpses lay in the streets from time to time, limbs scattered, blood staining the earth black.

From the streetlamps hung "sunshine dolls" one after another. They were dressed in finery—some in solemn, dignified Zhongshan suits with matching caps, others in traditional Tang-style tunics. They were all rotund with soft, manicured hands, clearly men who had enjoyed a life of luxury.

But now, they were all hanging corpses.

"The technique is quite good!" Chu Zhu remarked after a moment of observation, nodding with satisfaction. "It has the flair I had back in the day!"

In his youth, he had also started his career by hanging "sunshine dolls." Though, back then, he had mostly hung members of the evil criminal syndicates.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire and artillery echoed from afar.

Chu Zhu paused, looking toward the sound. He calculated the distance in his head; yes... it was right in the direction of his old home in the shanty redevelopment zone.

"Quite an intense battle!"

With that, Chu Zhu walked away in the opposite direction, entirely indifferent. However, in the current environment, finding a place to eat lunch wasn't easy. After searching for over an hour, he finally managed to find a noodle shop near the wealthy district.

He was halfway through his meal.

A shadow fell over him.

Chu Zhu raised an eyebrow with interest and looked up to see Li Kang, whose expression was a mix of bitterness, helplessness, and exhaustion; Guan Fei, wearing a blank expression; and Ning Linglong, who looked entirely casual.

"Did you find the culprit?" Chu Zhu asked calmly.

"You're still worried about the culprit?" Guan Fei spoke up. His attitude was completely different from the admiration and respect he once held, his tone now dripping with sarcasm. "I thought you’d be more concerned about how many people have died!"

"So, how many did die?" Chu Zhu asked casually.

It was as if Guan Fei had punched a ball of cotton; he opened his mouth several times, but not a single word came out.

"It’s likely in the triple digits, at least," Li Kang said. "As it stands, the Union Guard, which was previously in a gray area, will certainly be forcibly disbanded by the authorities. Every key member will be hunted down and put on a wanted list. The only fortunate thing is that the Guard didn't have many heavy firearms; otherwise, the situation would have been even more intense and dire... the casualties would have been in the quadruple digits at least!"

"Heh, the Guard disbanded?" Guan Fei laughed, a sound more wretched than crying. "Now, I fear the entire Union will be dismantled!"

"Uncle Zhu!" Ning Linglong ignored Guan Fei’s words; since they left the base that morning, Guan Fei’s emotions had been completely unstable. She said softly, "You really have to thank the Captain this time. If the Captain hadn't intervened forcibly... plus a few other things... you might have been dragged into this as well!"

"However, looking at it from that perspective, it’s also because you didn't interfere with the Union Guard from start to finish... that the authorities determined you weren't the mastermind behind this riot."